Book publishers and those dealing in magazines, journals and literary wares are welcome to apply to reserve a table. As space is limited, applications will be reviewed by our book fair committee. We will aim to get back to all applicants in a timely manner.

Please see the pricing and exhibitor eligibility details below. We look forward to welcoming you at the fair! 

About the Read Quebec Book Fair

The Read Quebec Book Fair was founded in 2015 by the Association of English-Language Publishers of Quebec and the Atwater Writers Exhibition. It’s an occasion to celebrate English-language writing from here, and to encourage booklovers of all ages and interests to browse, buy and get books signed. 

In the past the Fair has been restricted to Quebec-based English-language publishers. The 10th edition marks the first year open to non-member publishers and exhibitors. We hope to showcase a diverse range of literature and offer visitors the opportunity to support Canadian publishers this holiday season. 

Find photos from our 2024 fair here, and learn more about past editions of the fair here. 

2025 Fair Dates and Location

Casa d’Italia
Dec. 6-7
505 rue Jean-Talon E
Montreal, QC

Exhibitor Pricing

Rates

• $250 before October 1st
• $300 after October 1st

AELAQ Member Rates

• Solidarity price / Early bird: $125 before October 1st 
• Suggested price: $200 after October 1st 
• Pay it forward price: $300

If you can afford the suggested or pay-it-forward tables, we are grateful for the support. These efforts allow us to keep the fair accessible for smaller and emerging presses. After October 1, 2025, the early bird / solidarity price for members will no longer be available. 

For multiple table reservations, exhibitors are free to choose a combination of sponsor, solidarity or suggested price tables. Note that we will do our best to accommodate multiple table reservations if space allows. 

Each table reservation includes:

• 6 ft. table
• 2 chairs
• Signage identifying your publishing house / exhibitor name
• Black tablecloth
• Name tags

Eligibility criteria

As the book fair is organized by the Association of English-language Publishers, our focus is on attracting Canadian-owned publishers to exhibit. Authors with traditional Canadian publishers who are interested in participating are encouraged to pass along the application information to their publishers. We are not accepting applications from self-published authors at this time. 

While the mandate and focus of the fair is to celebrate and sell English-language books, we acknowledge the rich multilingual context within which the fair exists in Montreal, and welcome applications from publishers of books in other languages. 

Cancellation policy

Until September 30, 2025: full refund
Until October 31, 2025: 50% refund
From November 1, 2025 onwards: no refund

For any questions, please contact alexandra@aelaq.org. 

The post Applications are Open to Table at the 2025 Read Quebec Book Fair! appeared first on Read Quebec.

The Bixi stands have been reinstalled, yesteryear’s garbage has emerged like a contemporary art exhibit, and finally—after months and months of bitter, Montreal cold—people are lazing about in the city’s parks. It’s Spring, folks—Plateau Astro has proclaimed it!

For those among us who have had our nose in a book all winter long or have been feverishly writing something we call a passion project, it’s time to resurface—there are simply too many wonderful literary events happening this Spring!

Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival 

Forget hibernating and come celebrate poetry month at the Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival from April 24 to April 27, with virtual events beginning on April 14. This year’s theme—“Time, Tree, Page”—asks us to reflect on our relationships with literature and the natural world. The festival will include more than 120 events (you can find the festival schedule here). While there are far too many awe-inspiring events to list in entirety, here are a few that I am particularly looking forward to (of course I’ve already bought my pass, and you can too). 

At 11:30am on April 26, poets Cristina Rivera Garza and Rachel Eliza Griffiths will be in conversation at Hôtel 10 (in Salle JAG). They’ll be discussing “the elements that shape the New World and a poet’s search for meaning and expression based on their latest works about the body.” If I were you, I wouldn’t miss the opportunity to be in a room with these talented and evocative writers (RSVP here). As well, Garza will be receiving the Premio Metropolis Azul award the same day at 5:30pm at Hôtel 10 (in Salle JAG) followed by a reading of her poetry in French (RSVP here).

In line with this year’s theme, Peter Wohlleben, winner of the Blue Metropolis Planet Literature Prize, will be taking part in an interview. It will be held at 1pm on April 26 at Hôtel 10 (in Espace Godin). Wohlleben’s focus on the intelligence and interconnectedness of nature—particularly trees—is especially vital in our current political and environmental climate. Have you ever wondered how trees communicate and form relationships? Go to Wohlleben’s interview and find out! Better yet, grab a copy of his book from a local bookshop and do a little research beforehand.

Another event you’ll kick yourself for missing is “Up and Down the Fast Red Road” where poet Liliana Ancalao (from the Ñamkulawen Mapuche community), Blackfoot novelist Stephen Graham Jones (Pikunis), and Anishinaabe scholar Niigaan Sinclair (Peguis First Nation) will discuss language and literature across their distinct territories and traditions. This conversation will take place at 8:30pm on April 26 at Hôtel 10 (in Espace Godin). Worth noting as well, Jones will be receiving the Blue Metropolis First Peoples Prize for his extensive body of work on April 27 at 11:30am also at Hôtel 10 (in Espace Godin). 

Other noteworthy events: Salman Rushdie will be awarded the Blue Metropolis Grand Prix Award at 7pm on April 26 at Hôtel 10 (in Salle JAG); Anne Michaels and Kev Lambert (accompanied by their translators) will be talking about the art of translation at 11:30am on April 26 at Hôtel 10 (in Salle Jardin); and Anne Michaels will also be in conversation with Rachel Eliza Griffiths at 1pm on April 26 at Hôtel 10 (in Salle Saint-Laurent)—they will be discussing the relationship between writing and time.

Readings and Performances

Yolk Literary—an absolute Montreal institution—has begun hosting an event they call Two Readers and Music. If you’d like to get a sense of just how magical these events are, you can read the Montreal Fiction Prize award winner Zoe Lubetkin’s “Literary House Party: notes on yolk’s Two Readers and Music” or attend the event yourself! The next iteration will take place on April 11 with readings from Eva Crocker and francesca ekwuyasi, and music by Althea Sully Cole. Make sure to keep your eyes on Yolk’s Instagram to RSVP because the line-up is stacked, and the spots are limited! There will also be another one in May so stay tuned!

Yolk will also be hosting Pop-Up Poetry on April 5 at the Time Out Market in downtown Montreal. Have you ever dreamed of having a poem crafted just for you? Now’s your chance! Yolk team members will be there to write you a custom tailored poem (free of charge). They’ll also be selling copies of Yolk and merchandise. 

Another Montreal institution you’ll love is Accent Open Mic which recurs on the first and third Sunday of the month at 8pm at Bar La Marche à Côté on the Plateau. These events are primarily run by Cactus Press’ editor in chief Devon Gallant—check out the list below to see their upcoming events, featured readers, and open mic themes (a reminder that you can always read off-theme!):

• April 6: Lantern Magazine launch (featuring readings by Max Peerless, Claire Sherwood, Harper Ladd, Liana Cusmano, Cassandra Pegg, and Laura D’Angelo)
• April 20: Weed (featuring John Emil Vincent and Maia R. Becerra)
• May 4: Diatribes (featuring Jen Colclough and Erin Stanley)
• May 18: Cactus Press Spring Launch Party (featuring Carolyne Van Der Meer’s Birdology, Hillary Langford Taylor’s Dendron, and Carlos A. Pittella’s Propersitions)
• June 1: Ekphrasis (featuring Olive Andrews and JM Francheteau)
• June 15: Scolion (featuring H. Nigel Thomas)

Cactus Press will also be hosting the launch party for Jerome Ramcharitar’s forthcoming full-length poetry collection The Riddle of Three Crimson Doors in early Summer (you can get a feel for his work here). Make sure to follow @accent_open_mic and @cactuspresspoetry on Instagram to keep up to date with their events!

Bookstore Events

With the 25% tariff on books that’s being implemented on April 2, your local, indie book sellers need you more than they ever have. Make sure to stop by Librairie Pulp Books, Drawn & Quarterly, De Stiil, Encore, L’Euguélionne, Librairie St. Henri, and Argo Books when looking for your next park read! Fellow book lovers, please weigh in on the tariff situation here—if you’re uncertain of the tariff codes, don’t worry, Pulp Books has done the research for you! Alex Nierenhausen, owner of Pulp Books, also partook in an interview with CTV News about the impact of tariffs on local booksellers and you can watch here. 

Every Wednesday at 7pm, De Stiil hosts Page/Break—an hour of uninterrupted, wine-fuelled, collective reading time. You can bring your own book or read one from their shelves (don’t sleep on their recommendations). The $5 entry fee comes with a gratis glass of wine (or non-alcoholic bevvy) and the hour is followed by some bookish mingling. Note that you have to surrender your phone at the door and take some much-needed reprieve from digital life! The event is popular so make sure to show up to the bookshop a bit early to secure your spot. 

De Stiil will also be hosting the launch of “Dark Matter: Women Witnessing/Dreams Before Extinction” on April 6 from 4pm to 6pm. Dark Matter is a collection of essays, poems, and artworks by 67 women around the theme of devastation. The editors of the literary magazine as well as a handful of local contributors (Kim Zombik, Yehudit Silverman, and Lise Moisan) will be in attendance!

Pulp Books in Verdun also has some interesting literary events coming up this April! On April 2, they’ll be hosting the Just Crime Book Club, focusing on Evidence of Things Not Seen by James Baldwin. April 7 will be an instalment of Massey Mondays where Andrew Bell facilitates a discussion on one of the five lectures from the series. And, on April 8, they’ll be hosting the launch of Rachel Deutsch’s The Mother: A Graphic Memoir. Make sure to follow them on Instagram and RSVP to their events here!

On April 3, Pulp will be hosting “Flowers: The Poetry Showcase” where fourteen of Sephanie Bolster’s graduate students will read from poems they’ve been working on. If you’re looking for a way to support local, attending bookstore events is a surefire way to do it! Doors open at 6:30pm and readings start at 7pm. Included in the line-up are Headlight Anthology poetry editor Alana Dunlop and Yolk poetry editor Ennie Gloom—two incredibly talented writers!

Also on April 3, Argo Bookshop will be holding a reading with Iranian-Canadian cartoonist Dariush Ramezani for his new book Life is Beautiful—a 50-page comic featuring conversations between a deer-headed person and a sheep. And, on April 24, Argo will be hosting Book Talk: Fred Anderson in Conversation with Leila Marshy. They’ll also be hosting a book club on April 30 where they will be discussing Han Kang’s The Vegetarian as well as translation more broadly! Check out their events page to RSVP for these upcoming events.

Last but certainly not least, Librairie Saint-Henri Books will be hosting a book launch for Jean-Philippe Baril Guérard’s You Crushed It on April 10—a witty exploration of love, insecurity, and the corrosive power dynamics of stand-up. Guérard and his translator Neil Smith will both be there to answer any questions you might have. It’s free to attend the event and you can RSVP here! The bookstore will also be hosting a free book club for Toni Morrison’s Tar Baby on April 16 that you can RSVP to here. If you needed an excuse to read some of Morrison’s work, this is it! 

Are you a mood reader and don’t know what to pick up next? Head to Librairie Saint-Henri on April 26 for BookMatch. You’ll be prompted to fill out a questionnaire to get paired with your perfect book. To sweeten the deal even more, the $35 cost comes with two glasses of wine, some snacks, and a $10 gift card. Don’t miss out on the chance to find your next favourite book and hang out with fellow book lovers! You can pick up your tickets here. 

Though not held at a bookstore, Pulse Mag will be hosting the launch of their first issue at Système on April 17 from 6pm to 10pm. Stop by to grab a drink and a copy of the issue (tickets not necessary)! This is a wonderful chance to get a taste of what’s happening in Montreal’s literary scene.

Open Books, Open Minds Conference

On April 23, the Association of English-language Publishers of Quebec (AELAQ) is hosting Open Books, Open Minds, a one-day professional development conference geared toward the book publishing industry in Quebec and beyond. The day will start with a keynote address from Dan Wells, founder of Windsor-based book publisher Biblioasis. Ensuing panels will explore AI in the book industry and international exports, with a concluding conversation around how publishers can establish and leverage relationships with librarians across the city. Coffee and lunch will be provided, and the programming will be followed by wine and cheese. 

The conference is set to take place at the Centre Culturel Georges-Vanier in Saint-Henri (the building is accessible to those with reduced mobility). This event is open to the public and has three pricing tiers available on a pay-what-you-wish basis—you can RSVP here. Make sure to be timely as there are limited in-person spots! However, please note that everything will be live-streamed via Zoom as well. 

Montreal’s literary scene is more vibrant than ever! Head to Accent Open Mic to read your poem that’s been sitting in an unmarked folder on your desktop. Immerse yourself in Montreal’s burgeoning Anglo literary community at Two Readers and Music. Stop by De Stiil for a glass of wine and some much needed reprieve from the digital world. Spring is springing and the literati are waiting for you!

Hana Woodbridge (she/they) is a literary artist based in Tiohtià:ke/Montreal. Her work has been featured in Vallum, Soliloquies, and the Encore Poetry Project. She has an MA in Media Studies and great taste in music.

Illustration by Katie MacLean.

The post Montreal’s Spring Literary Line-Up appeared first on Read Quebec.

by Billie Gagné-LeBel

Even after going through many evolutions and iterations, some things have never changed at Véhicule Press – like the company’s logo, which was designed by Guy Lavoie back in 1973. Co-publisher Simon Dardick’s role as a typesetter for all the books published by the company is something else that has stayed the same. “I was a painter, a visual artist, so the way our books look has always been really important to us,” he says. “The last 100 [covers] have been done by David Drummond, who’s got a certain sensibility that we like. I still typeset all the books. The sense of how a book looks on the page and choosing the type – that’s an important aesthetic that hasn’t changed, it’s just gotten better.”

Before becoming the established publishing house many Montrealers and Canadians now know and love, Véhicule was a cooperatively owned printing and publishing company run out of the artist-run gallery Véhicule Art Inc. Today, they’re known for publishing a variety of books, ranging from fiction and poetry to history and essays, and have garnered critical success with many recent titles. Baharan Baniahmadi’s novel, Prophetess, won the 2022 QWF Paragraphe Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction Winner and the 2023 Blue Metropolis/Conseil des arts de Montreal New Contribution Literary Prize. Dimitri Nasrallah’s most recent novel, Hotline, was a 2023 CBC Canada Reads Selection and went through four printings, and Gabrielle Boulianne-Tremblay’s novel, Dandelion Daughter, translated by Eli Tareq El Bechelany-Lynch, was published this spring and has already gone into a second printing. 

For Dardick, it’s the only job he’s had since 1973: “It’s been quite a voyage for myself and my partner, Nancy Marrelli. When we started in the ’70s, we were sort of like long-haired kids learning how to learn to trade. I learned typesetting, and my partner and co-editor Guy Lavoie went to CEGEP and learned how to print so we could publish books. And so we evolved and managed to get into the publishing stream in this country, and it’s been fifty years of doing this.” 

As Dardick’s partner in business and in life, Marrelli’s contribution is not to be understated, as Adrian King-Edwards, owner of the independent and second-hand bookstore The Word, insists when I ask him about Véhicule: “Nancy is definitely important. Absolutely. Their contribution in terms of publishing is immense, particularly with Montreal history. I’m thinking about Nancy’s book on the history of jazz in Montréal and Montréal Archives photo album, as well as Merrily Weisbord’s Strangest Dream. Their contribution to the poetry community is also huge. The Signal imprint, which was started by Michael Harris and went on to Carmine Starnino, has well over 100 books now; it takes real dedication to do that.” 

Marrelli is an archivist by trade, and Dardick explains how her presence and support made Véhicule possible, not only due to her full-time job at Concordia, but because she brought on some projects which ended up being excellent for the bottom line: “In the early ’80s,” he recalls, “she brought an archives book to us, it was called The Life of a Document: A Global Approach to Archives and Records Management. It was before the internet became really big, and the Pentagon ordered copies. It seems like every legal jurisdiction across the country and in the States ordered that book. It was unbelievable.”

Other non-fiction best-sellers have kept the press afloat, and able to dedicate as much attention as it has to fiction and poetry. A few winemaking books, in particular, have been unmitigated successes for Véhicule: “Most people have no idea that we do these books and it’s quite funny,” says Dardick. “In 1998, Nancy’s mother was approached by a friend who said her son [Daniel Pambianchi] was writing a book on home winemaking. I remember Nancy saying, ‘We don’t do wine books, but we’d take a look at it,’ out of respect for her mother. That book was called Techniques in Home Winemaking, and it has sold 40,000 copies. It’s been supplanted now, by another of Pambianchi’s books, Modern Home Winemaking, which is in the top ten winemaking books in the United States, and it’s incredible. It allows us to sustainably do poetry and fiction.”

Poetry is how Dardick and King-Edwards met: Véhicule used to have weekly poetry readings, whereas The Word hosted readings every two weeks, and they all evolved together in that small, effervescent community, with their own literary ambitions. Community is where Dardick and Marrelli found a strong foothold, explains King-Edwards: “As you know, writing is a very lonely activity, and their launches were always incredibly social and got everybody together. They had legendary parties at their home, and they were always concerned about their writers. I know of at least one case where somebody was down on his luck, and they invited him to live with them. They’re incredibly generous.”

Signal’s original editor, Michael Harris, also attests to the publishing duo’s generosity. In his case, it’s the carte blanche he was given when starting Signal that blew him away: “By 1980, I decided that I should ask Simon to see whether I could actually put on some kind of poetry publication, and thank God, he said yes. And he said, ‘Do whatever you want!’ I had a moment of euphoria when I realized that I could help out people whose work I thought was deserving.” 

Dimitri Nasrallah, the editor of the press’s fiction imprint Esplanade, has a similar story: a few years after Véhicule published his second novel, Niko, Dardick reached out to him to take over the imprint as editor. “He said, ‘You’re not gonna get rich doing this, but in exchange, you can do pretty much whatever you want.’ Most people, when they say that, are saying it in a measured way, but Simon and Nancy were true to their word, and for the past decade, they’ve pretty much let me bring a vision to Esplanade fiction, to develop relationships and publish in the direction that I saw fit.” Nasrallah goes on to describe his relationship with Dardick as that of a mentor: “He’s like a literary father figure of sorts. He brings wisdom to the ambition that I bring and really just complements everything we do. He is a very good collaborator, someone who gives room to the voices on the floor and allows people to have their space, which I’ve really appreciated.”

To celebrate their fiftieth anniversary, Véhicule Press will be hosting a gala on Saturday, June 17, at Casa d’Italia. The event, which is free and open to the public, will be hosted by writers Nyla Matuk and Mark Abley, and will feature readings and reflections by authors and editors as well as a reception. Dardick insists that all are welcome: “We’d love to have not only the literary crowd, but anyone who reads books and is excited about books.”

Billie Gagné-LeBel is a queer freelance writer and content creator who loves to explore questions of identity and mental health, alternative relationships and lifestyles, beauty, and all things pop/geek culture. She writes for her own blog and publications such as Grenier aux nouvelles and BE MTL, and does copywriting and social media creation for a range of clients.

All photos courtesy of Véhicule Press.

The post The Wheels Keep On Turning appeared first on Read Quebec.

by Billie LeBel-Gagné

I can’t lie: when I first received a book as a holiday gift, when I was eight years old, I was disappointed. What could possibly be so interesting in a pile of paper compared to my other gifts? Thankfully, that book ultimately made me fall in love with reading. Discovering new worlds, getting to know characters, fictitious or real, learning new things: reading can transport you in so many different directions and is a gift in itself. Needless to say,books have been among my favourite gifts to receive ever since.

Last week, we published our Holiday Book Catalogue, with over 100 titles to choose from. If you’re still looking for recommendations, here are three more suggested reads by some friends of Read Quebec. As you’ll read, a common thread emerges from their suggestions: racism, sexism, identity and politics seem to be front and centre. Let their suggestions inspire you in your holiday gifting (and to-read list)!

Toula Drimonis: Seize temps noirs pour apprendre à dire kuei by Philippe Néméh-Nombré

Faithful to her interests in questions of identity politics, opinion columnist and writer Toula Drimonis recommends a French-language book by sociologist and Black studies researcher Philippe Néméh-Nombré. Seize temps noirs pour apprendre à dire kuei, out from Mémoire d’encrier, explores proximities and solidarity between the Black and Indigenous communities in Quebec. In sixteen parts, the book reimagines the history and the possibilities of the meeting of nations beyond colonial violence, from a black perspective. Drimonis considers it a  deeply singular read, but not a light one by any stretch of the imagination: “A really interesting collection of essays on indigenous and Black identity in Quebec. It’s a unique take on things and he is well versed on the topic.”

Toula Drimonis is a Montreal-based opinion columnist, writer and news producer. She has worked in television, radio, and print in all three of her languages, and has appeared on TV as both panelist and contributor to English- and French-language current affairs and cultural news shows. Her first book, We, The Others, published by Linda Leith Publishing in 2022, is a poignant look at intergenerational struggles, conflicting loyalties and heartfelt questions of belonging.

Rachel McCrum & Rebecca West: No Crystal Stair by Mairuth Sarsfield

Poet and performer Rachel McCrum suggests an oldie but a goodie:  a new edition of No Crystal Stair, by Mairuth Sarsfield. Originally published in 1997, the novel was republished by Linda Leith Publishing last year. Taking place in Montreal in the 1940s, in the Black community of Little Burgundy, the novel follows a young widow named Marion Willow, who is struggling to raise her three daughters, and holding down two jobs. No Crystal Stair dives deep into racism and sexism. McCrum describes it as rich and nuanced: “It’s a fabulous portrait of 1940s Montreal and gives perspective to the continuing complexity and diversity of lives in the city today.”

For AELAQ’s Executive Director Rebecca West, the re-edition and its launch hold a special place in 2022: “I picked up a copy at the April launch, where we had a chance to hear from the late Sarsfield’s granddaughter, Zinzi da Silva, amongst other literary luminaries. Having grown up half a block from the Westmount YMCA, which figures prominently in the narrative, I was fascinated to learn about the important role that it played in post-War Montreal, and the casual acts of racism that the staff had to endure. An enlightening and personal story, rich in history lessons without the pedagogy of a textbook.”

Originally from Northern Ireland, Rachel McCrum is now delighted to call Montreal home, where she is the editor of Font magazine, and works full-time as a freelance poet, performer, event curator, and workshop facilitator. Her debut  collection, The First Blast to Awaken Women Degenerate (Stewed Rhubarb Press, 2018), was published in a bilingual edition with Mémoire d’encrier in 2020, as Le premier coup de clairon pour réveiller les femmes immorales.

Rebecca West is Executive Director of the Association of English Language Publishers of Quebec and Publisher of the Montreal Review of Books. 

David Bradford: Dream Rooms by River Halen 

Poet and editor David Bradford recommends the multidisciplinary Dream Rooms, by River Halen from Book*hug Press. Marrying poetry and non-fiction essays, the book is set in the years of River’s transition and follow deceptively simple daily occurrences from a deeply queer and trans perspective. Bradford admires the airy yet hefty way Halen describes this period of transition in their life: “The book is for me most enthralling and relatable in the not-quite-wholes Halen describes the accumulation of bright, sharp and/or difficult moments that carefully slip into each other as the poet’s formal loft meets the humble means with which they continue to find themself—and embrace who they’re finding.”

David Bradford is a poet and editor based in Tioh’tia:ke (Montréal). His poetry has appeared in, among others, Prairie Fire, The Fiddlehead, filling Station, The Capilano Review, Carte Blanche, and anthologized in The Unpublished City, a 2018 Toronto Book Awards finalist. He is the author of several chapbooks, including Call Out (2017), Nell Zink Is Damn Free (2017), and The Plot (2018). Bradford’s first book, Dream of No One but Myself, is an interdisciplinary inquiry into the versioning aspects of his and his family’s histories with abuse and trauma.

Billie Gagné-LeBel is a queer freelance writer and content creator who loves to explore questions of identity and mental health, alternative relationships and lifestyles, beauty, and all things pop/geek culture. She writes for her own blog and publications such as Grenier aux nouvelles and BE MTL, and does copywriting and social media creation for a range of clients.

Illustration by Nora Kelly

The post Get Lit this Holiday Season appeared first on Read Quebec.

by Faith Paré

Readers and the fall are a long-time match, but while the wind and fog typically entice folks to stay inside with a stack of books, I’m eager to hit the pavement. Reading series return from summer vacation, and book fairs arrive just in time to prepare for the holidays. When I moved to Montreal in the autumn of 2017 to study creative writing, it was by sitting at the backs of bars and drifting from reading to reading that I became acquainted with this literary landscape. Perhaps the phrase should be literary ecosystem: a varied, interconnected network of linguistic and stylistic differences that overlap, brush against, and inspire each other. Fall continues to represent this peak literary season for me. I hope this list, though not exhaustive, will encourage you to bear the chill and go savour some live literature!

Have no fear if you couldn’t attend Anteism’s triple book launch and want to hear more Alexei Perry Cox. You can hear her read alongside 2017 Griffin Award nominee Hoa Nguyen from the comfort of your home, for the Atwater Poetry Project’s online event on September 29, 8 p.m. This fusion of Cox and Nguyen’s experimental poetics will be the perfect kickoff to the APP’s multidisciplinary fall season (if I can say so myself—I did organize it, after all!). Register with your email via Crowdcast to attend.

URSA, Montreal folk legend Martha Wainwright’s venue, proves to be a friend of not only musicians but writers, with an upcoming transnational reading featuring Dominic Hoey, Omar Musa, Hollie McNish, and Michael Pedersen on the evening of Monday, September 26. An impressive curatorial effort by Font Magazine editor Rachel McCrum, she and the four invitees together represent Aotearoa (New Zealand), Australia, England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland, offering a taste of global literary currents usually rare outside of festivals. Tickets are $10 at the door. 

Speaking of festivals, POP Montreal returns to The Main at the end of September with their diverse calendar of exhibitions, film screenings, and musical acts. September 28 offers the fifth edition of the festival’s Lecture POP Reads showcase,promoting recently published local books. This year features bilingual readings by Fiorella Boucher, Yara El-Ghadban, Jean-Pierre Gorkynian, N. Oji Mzilikazi, Jason “Blackbird” Selman, Deanna “DNA” Smith, and Philippe Yong in the stunning Rialto Hall. 

On September 30, Librairie Paragraphe welcomes Ukrainian novelist Ivan Baidak, who’s embarking on a Canadian tour to promote the English translation of his book (In)visible, which explores the social experiences of people with physical conditions and disabilities. The urgency of Baidak’s novel is amplified by the circumstances of its original Ukrainian press, VIVAT Publishing, struggling to survive and comfort national readers amid Russian occupation. Also on September 30, Montreal-grown literary journal Weird Era launches its second issue at De Stiil Books: toast to their work with a Weird Era-themed cocktail and enjoy readings from contributors Frankie Barnet, Michael LaPointe, Sean Michaels, and Anna Ralph. 

October begins with THROW! Poetry Collective at their new venue, Le Basement, on October 1. The longstanding slam has excitedly been testing a fully bilingual competition and open mic. Léo Coupal, the 2017 Quebec representative at la Coupe du monde de slam de poésie, is their upcoming featured performer, but in case you miss it, the slam occurs the first Saturday of each month. Cover is $8, and make sure to sign up ahead of time if you wish to compete!

The first weekend of October, the Volume Art Book Fair, organized by ARCMTL, takes over the SAT (Sociéte des arts technologiques) with over fifty international exhibitors, a second-hand art book sale, and live music. Among this year’s local publishers at Volume 5 is multidisciplinary poet extraordinaire Fortner Anderson—stop by his table and say hello! Volume 5’s programming also includes exhibitions, artist talks, and workshops with visiting creators between September 27 and October 1. Details are still to be announced, but ARCMTL’s acclaimed Expozine festival is also rumoured to return this year, likely in November.

The Next on the Agenda (NOTA) Conference for English-language writers, publishers, and literary professionals is bound to be creative in its prismatic approach to the theme, “Writing Futures in Quebec.” The free day of panels and focus groups is an ideal way to gain insight into career resources and to address matters at the heart of literary industries today. In-person seats at Concordia University’s 4th Space are now full, but get on the waitlist, or register to attend via Zoom. 

It’s usually a nightmare to choose between two readings happening on the same night, but not impossible to attend both if they’re down the block from each other. On October 5, the Violet Hour, hosted by Christopher DiRaddio, partners with Gay Village green space la Place du Village to present a queer, bilingual reading en plein air with Gabriel Cholette, Nofel, Virginie Savard, Su J. Sokol, and Neil Smith. Meanwhile, Librarie L’Euguélionne is the lucky host of River Halen and the launch for their latest release, Dream Rooms, with a guest appearance from THIS Magazine fiction editor Felix Chau Bradley. Both events begin at 6 p.m. 

Mid-to-late October is expected to be bursting with events. On Saturday, October 29 at 7 p.m., the Atwater Poetry Project is returning to our home at the Atwater Library in the Adair Auditorium to present one of our biggest shows this year. Down the Road and A World Away: Poets from Near and Far features winners of PEN Canada’s prestigious New Voices Award, Em Dial (2020), Deepa Rajagopalan (2021), and Fareh Malik (2022), and British Columbia’s Isabella Wang. This showcase results from the joined forces of the APP, PEN Canada, literary curator Linda Morra, and the Quebec Writers’ Federation, who will also host a writing workshop led by Isabella Wang on the same day. There is a fee for the afternoon workshop, which ranges for QWF members, non-members, and students, but check out the organization’s needs-based scholarships and their Fresh Pages scholarships for writers of colour. And the APP reading that evening—like all of our events—is free to attend.

Some events are still to be confirmed. The October date and lineup for the bilingual series Lectures Logos Readings, hosted at Little Burgundy’s UNIA Hall and organized by the Kola Writers (Maguy Métellus, Blossom Thom, and H. Nigel Thomas), is likely to be announced in the coming weeks. Writers’ Read, Concordia’s creative writing department’s official reading series, is preparing to announce a nonfiction writing panel moderated by Hayley Mlotek,  scheduled for October 20.

November is a month of celebration for the English-writing scene in Quebec, and this year’s return to in-person gatherings will be extra special. AELAQ’s annual Holiday Book Fair is distinct for its innovative collaborations in addition to their weekend book sale. On November 2, the Montreal Review of Books commences the fair with its Fall Issue Launch at URSA. November 3 is a special Holiday Book Fair edition of the Atwater Poetry Project with writers Trynne Delaney, River Halen, and Prathna Lor at the Atwater Library’s Adair Auditorium, reading and signing their books released in 2022. Sales by Quebec publishers and bookstores will take place in the Concordia Atrium on November 5 and 6, with literary events happening in the 4th Space on Friday, November 4. 

Also planned for the Holiday Book Fair is a showcase of the finalists for the inaugural QWF Spoken Word Prize. The winners will later be revealed on November 14 with other recipients of the organization’s other literary awards during the Quebec Writers’ Federation’s Annual Gala at the Cabaret Lion d’Or. Details for these events are forthcoming. And, of course, there’s you! If you’re reading this, you, too, are already part of this literary ecosystem. Whether you’re tempted to put together an open mic at your favourite café spot, or want to spread the word about a reading that you’ll be a part of, make sure you submit your event to the QWF’s calendar, email Where Poets Read for inclusion on their blog, or write to the recently re-established Literary Umbrella of Quebec to collaborate with fellow literary organizers.

Faith Paré is a poet and performer of Afro-Guyanese ancestry. She has shared her work at national arts centres such as the Art Gallery of York University, the Harbourfront Centre, and the Winter Garden Theatre. Faith is the curator of the Atwater Poetry Project, a community-based English-language reading series with a national audience, founded in 2004. She was the inaugural recipient of the Quebec Writers’ Federation’s Mairuth Sarsfield Mentorship, and was named an honourable mention for the League of Canadian Poets’ Pavlick Prize, granted to a poet with an outstanding portfolio and significant commitment to Canadian poetry communities. She writes in Tiohtià:ke/Mooniyang/Montreal.

Illustration by Nora Kelly

The post Season’s Readings appeared first on Read Quebec.

by Misha Khan

Rain or shine, there’s nothing more romantic than spending a day wandering the streets of Montreal, a cup of coffee in hand, navigating the nooks and crannies of a bookstore. With an arts culture as vibrant as Montreal’s, there’s no shortage of books to be sought out. And although much of the city’s literary culture is of and for the Francophone community, there are also a host of local English-language bookstores you can spend your next rainy day inside of, browsing for noteworthy reads to add to your shelves.

Librairie Paragraphe Bookstore 

Located across the street from McGill University in the heart of downtown Montreal, Paragraphe Bookstore has been a cornerstone of the city’s literary scene since it opened in 1981. The bookstore is also known to be visited by authors on tour, along with local writers. 

“Paragraphe Bookstore is proud to be an active member of the city’s cultural community. We are a general interest bookstore with a wide in-store selection, specializing in academic titles,” says Andreas Kessariss, the store’s Events Coordinator. In addition to its wide selection of academic books, this shop also stocks popular fiction and nonfiction.

The Argo Bookshop

Located in Shaughnessy Village, Argo Bookshop is the oldest English-language independent bookstore in Montreal. They offer a curated selection of fiction and non-fiction, including literature, poetry, philosophy, and biography. The store also specializes in books on marginalized groups and by marginalized authors, including books on race, gender, and queer issues.

The Argo Bookshop hosts regular events that range from readings and signings to book clubs and write-ins. Be sure to check out their website to stay up to date on their upcoming events!

Encore Books & Records 

Located in the heart of NDG, the story of this bookstore began with a father and son who had a treasure-hunting passion and began to accumulate far more than they could store in their own home. After it became apparent that they could not keep all of their book and music findings, they started supplying retail book and record stores. After nine years of learning the business, Peter and Sean Madden opened Encore Books & Records in 2004. 

“Encore is full of books, records, magazines, comics, CDs and DVDs! We try to be a place where everybody can have fun browsing and discovering all the amazing treasures,” notes Sean.

De Stiil Bookstore

Before De Stiil was a bookshop, it was a clothing store called État de Style, owned and operated by Aude Le Dubé. But when Montreal went into lockdown at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Le Dubé decided to change course—replacing the racks with shelves and turning the boutique into a bookstore dedicated to a curated selection of English-language literature. 

Le Dubé has noted her delight in unearthing the latest and greatest titles, selecting novels that she herself has indulged in, but also ones for her clients’ tastes in mind. 

Librairie Drawn & Quarterly

In 2008, veteran comics publisher Drawn and Quarterly renovated a former dress shop on Bernard Street in Mile End, opening its first store and revitalizing the independent book retail landscape in Montreal and in Canada.

Librairie Drawn & Quarterly is proud to be known not just as the flagship shop for the publisher, but as the city’s literary hub for all genres and ages. Cartoonists, writers, essayists, poets, illustrators, and the readers who love them–all call the store their own. They’ve even opened a second location down the street, devoted to children’s books.

Librarie Saint-Henri

Located in the borough of St-Henri, Librairie St-Henri Books is a local, independent bookstore that houses a curated selection of fiction, non-fiction, graphic novels, children’s books, young adult fiction, cookbooks, as well as locally sourced zines, greeting cards, pins, patches, stickers, and other unique wares.

They are committed to stocking and uplifting the voices of POC, queer, and Indigenous authors, at home and abroad. 

Bibliophile Bookshop

In business for nearly 40 years, Bibliophile is an independent English bookshop that carries a range of genres including children’s books, Judaica, psychology, and cookbooks. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, they’ll order your favourites for you. 

If you have grandchildren who live in a different city, you can also join their Grandparent Club—Bibliophile will send them a suitable book once a month. 

S.W. Welch Bookseller

This venerable shop has been offering a carefully curated choice of second-hand titles since 1984, first on the Plateau and, for the past 15 years, on St-Viateur in the heart of Mile End. In 2021, a threat to the store’s future due to raised rents caused a major public outcry, with neighbourhood book lovers coming out in droves to support the local institution.

Stephen Welch, the store’s eponymous owner, has declared his intention to retire in 2023, so don’t miss an opportunity to visit this classic spot while in the neighbourhood.

The Word Bookstore

The Word Bookstore was founded in 1975 by couple Adrian King-Edwards and Lucille Friesen, who opened up an underground bookstore in the living room of their Milton Street apartment. 

When The Word opened its doors for the first time, the McGill students and poets who had frequented the apartment next door for bi-weekly poetry readings and impromptu literary salons were among their first customers. Over the years, The Word has become a citywide institution.

Misha Khan is a freelance writer and activist with years of experience working in grassroots organizations. She has a passion for amplifying underrepresented voices and exploring topics ranging from mental health, literacy, and feminist studies in her writing. 

Illustration by Nora Kelly

The post Literary Landscape appeared first on Read Quebec.

By Emma Telaro 

Summer in Montreal is in full swing. Whether you’re traveling, working, or just kicking it back, here are some ideas to keep you occupied during your downtime. 

At Read Quebec, we love a good local book recommendation, so we reached out to Quebec-based writers to find out what they’re reading this summer. Below are their seasonal suggestions. 

Ariela Freedman recommends:

Time Zone J by Julie Doucet 

Drawn & Quarterly, 2022 

2022 marks Julie Doucet’s triumphant return to the comics medium: in March she won the Grand Prix at the Angôuleme Comics festival, and in April, Drawn & Quarterly released her new book Time Zone J, a fever dream of a graphic memoir which mixes memory and desire in an account of a reckless love affair with a young French recruit she calls the hussar. Doucet tells the story as the middle-aged narrator of her own misspent youth against a crowded black and white background which contains a wild menagerie of fantasy and recollection. Not a beach read, but impossible to put down.

Ariela Freedman was born in Brooklyn and has lived in Jerusalem, New York, Calgary, London, and Montreal. She has a Ph.D. from New York University and teaches literature at Concordia’s Liberal Arts College in Montreal, where she lives with her family. Her debut, Arabic for Beginners (LLP, 2017), was shortlisted for the QWF Concordia University First Book Prize and won the 2018 J. I. Segal Prize for Fiction. Her second novel, A Joy to be Hidden (LLP, 2019), was shortlisted for the Segal Prize in 2020, and was a finalist for the The Paragraphe Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction. Her latest novel, Léa (LLP, 2022), is about the life of famed activist and feminist Léa Roback.

Gillian Sze recommends:

Daydreams of Angels by Heather O’Neill

HarperCollins, 2015

I loved dipping into Heather O’Neill’s collection of short stories this summer and losing myself to magic, whimsy, robots, angels, and heartbreak. She is such a masterful storyteller. I don’t know how she makes these impossible worlds possible, but I’m so glad she does.

Gillian Sze is the author of multiple poetry collections and picture books. She studied Creative Writing and English Literature and received a PhD in études anglaises from Université de Montréal. Her latest collection of poems and essays, Quiet Night Think, explores the early shaping of a writer, the creative process, and motherhood. gilliansze.com

Klara du Plessis recommends:

PLACE by Alexei Perry Cox

Noemi Press, 2022

Alexei Perry Cox’s second collection PLACE (Noemi Press, 2022) is a stunning, intimate progression of translingual and grounded poetics. It is important reading to listen to, especially as we reflect upon what it means to live on unceded or stolen land, and resist the colonial practice of mapping borders and reading place as static. Alexei will perform from PLACE in dialogue with Kama La Mackerel as part of We’ve Weave, a Deep Curation performance 28 July and 9 August.

Klara du Plessis (she/her) is a poet, scholar, and literary curator. Her debut collection, Ekke, won the Pat Lowther Memorial Award, and her second book is Hell Light Flesh, both released by Palimpsest Press. This year she published a book of experimental criticism based on transcription with SpokenWeb and in collaboration with Emma Telaro called Quotes: Transcriptions on Listening, Sound, Agency, and a chapbook with Knife Fork Book, Skin and Meat Sky. Klara is a PhD candidate in English Literature at Concordia University, Tiohtià:ke/Montreal.

Photo by Dean Garlick.

Malcolm Fraser recommends:

The Adventures of Sgoobidoo by Cathon

Pow Pow Press, 2021

My summer recommendation is The Adventures of Sgoobidoo, by local artist Cathon, out from Pow Pow Press (the English-language imprint of Éditions Pow Pow, who publish a lot of really interesting Quebec comics). Sgoobidoo is obviously inspired in name and general concept by a certain famous cartoon dog detective, but otherwise unrelated. Cathon’s version is a somewhat bleak, occasionally nihilistic, but always funny parody of comic-book tropes, including the hyperbolic ads that readers of a certain generation will recall from their favourite superhero comics. With an enjoyably simple drawing style and a sensibility ranging from melancholy to nightmarish, The Adventures of Sgoobidoo offers dark humour to counterbalance the sunny season.

Malcolm Fraser is a writer, musical entertainer, occasional filmmaker, host of the What Is This Music?! podcast, and editor of the Montreal Review of Books. 

Alex Manley recommends:

Kim: A Novel Idea by Frankie Barnet

Metatron Press, 2022

Frankie Barnet’s second book with Metatron Press — following her powerful but more stylistically conservative 2016 debut, the short story collection An Indoor Kind of Girl — is called Kim: A Novel Idea. A graphic novel (of sorts), it sees Barnet using her perennially sharp prose and biting wit to explore what it’s like to attend a university program where the profs are predatory. In addition to exploring the big questions (death, love, Kim Kardashian, talking cats) and zooming in to microscope level on the uncomfortable thoughts we all experience when confronted with them, the whole thing is threaded through with perfectly lo-fi digital illustrations that rub shoulders with the book’s ideas about finality and perfection — hence the subtitle, “A Novel Idea,” not simply “A Novel.”

Alex Manley is a Montreal-based writer and editor. Their recent works include an English-language translation of Daphné B.’s Maquillée (Made-Up, Coach House Books, 2021) and a forthcoming book on contemporary manhood (The New Masculinity, ECW Press, 2023).

Dean Garlick recommends:

Brothers by David Clerson, translated by Katia Grubisic

QC Fiction, 2016

This book is a few years old, but to this day it is the Québécois book in English translation I most often recommend. Clerson’s novel mesmerizes as a piece of contemporary fabulism that imagines the limits of what it means to be human, and how far beyond those limits two brothers are willing to go to discover their true identities.

Dean Garlick is a photographer and fiction writer. His photography documents the at times surprising beauty of banal subject matter in the alleys and industrial areas of Montreal.

deangarlick.com

Dean on Instagram

Faith Paré recommends:

the half-drowned by Trynne Delaney

Metatron Press, 2022 

Trynne Delaney’s speculative novella the half-drowned follows a group of young people trying to make sense of home in a world made uninhabitable from climate catastrophe. Inspired by the Bay of Fundy’s otherworldly seascape, Delaney is a bold inheritor of the Afrofuturist literary tradition, with a pearlescent prose that guides the plot’s murky mysteries of ancestry and inheritance.

Faith Paré is a poet and performer of Afro-Guyanese ancestry. Her writing has appeared or is forthcoming in The Puritan, Arc Poetry Magazine, Contemporary Verse 2, and elsewhere. Faith is the curator of the Atwater Poetry Project, an English-language reading series founded in 2004 and hosting poets and audiences from across Canada. She is a proud alum of “Our Bodies, Our Stories,” a program for emerging queer and trans BIPOC artists led by Kama La Mackerel, and was the inaugural recipient of the Quebec Writers’ Federation’s Mairuth Sarsfield Mentorship under Gillian Sze. faithpare.com

Emma Telaro is a writer and reader living in Montreal. She is the Associate Director of the Association of English-language Publishers of Quebec. To get involved with AELAQ, email her at emma@aelaq.org.

The post Summer Reads appeared first on Read Quebec.

by Billie Gagné-LeBel

Summer may be universally synonymous with warmth, beach days, and vacations, but in Montreal, what really sets the season apart is events: the city comes alive with festivals of all kinds, pedestrianized streets, and sidewalk sales. The literary scene is not exempt from this excitement, and the summer of 2022 has its fair share of fun bookish events—here are some you should keep on your radar.

Uptempo Book Club 

If you thought you’d heard it all before, brace yourself: Uptempo is a running club that hosts book club meetings! This means they get together for “book runs” to discuss a book. Since June is  Pride Month, their next event is under the theme of queerness, and they’re reading Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters. If you’re interested in joining their run and discussion on Friday, June 24, you can RSVP for free right here.

Book & Brunch Montreal 

Montreal’s chapter of the Book & Brunch book club is hosting a final brunch before its summer hiatus on Sunday, June 26. The book club is dedicated to celebrating writers from the African diaspora, and this month’s book is Butter Honey Pig Bread by Francesca Ekwuyasi. You can buy your ticket right here; otherwise, keep your eyes open for when the book club is  back in September.

Boundless Book Club 

Boundless Book Club is a brand-new book club launching in Montreal. The club, which is geared toward queer and trans BIPOC, will meet on two different Sundays a month to discuss books by LGBTQIA2S+ and/or BIPOC authors. Their very first meeting is set for next Sunday, June 26, with a second one planned on Sunday, July 10, at Parc Laurier, to discuss She of the Mountains by Vivek Shraya. The event is free of charge, and you can RVSP right here.

Montreal Review of Books Summer 2022 Issue Launch

This launch is extra special since this year is the Montreal Review of Books’ 25th anniversary! To celebrate, the journal is inviting everyone to the Cardinal Tea Room on Wednesday, July 6th for its Summer 2022 Issue Launch. Authors Rawi Hage, Gina Roitman, and John Emil Vincent will read from their new books,  available for purchase and signing on site. The evening also includes live music by pianist Jeff Louch. Make sure to get there early, as the first 50 guests will receive special door prizes—doors open at 6:30 p.m., and readings begin around 7 p.m.

Montreal Comiccon

If you missed Montreal Comic Arts Festival last May, don’t despair: you can get your fill of comics during Montreal Comiccon, running July 8 to 10 at the Palais des congrès. The event has two categories of comic-book guests, the latter of which is the French BD (bande dessinée). In both categories, guests from all over the world are set to appear on stage,sign autographs, and take pictures with fans. Featured guests include the Gazette’s political cartoonist Aislin, current Conan the Barbarian writer/illustrator Jim Zub, and Kevin Eastman, the co-creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. For the full program, check out the Comiccon website.

Fierté Montréal — An Evening With Alok 

Fierté Montréal is bound to have more literary events up its sleeve (looking at you, Des livres et des paillettes avec Barbada), but the only one confirmed so far is this evening with internationally acclaimed writer and speaker Alok Menon. The show, which is totally free, will take place at Théâtre Olympia on August 1. Alok will be accompanied by multimedia artist Kim Ninkuru, comedian Jes Tom, and multidisciplinary artist and drag queen Chiquita Mére, for an evening of poetry, humour, and performances. To RSVP and book your ticket, check out Fierté Montréal’s website.

The Nomad Cook Book Tour

Chef Travis Petersen is hosting intimate dinners as part of promoting his latest book, The Nomad Cook—Introduction to Culinary Cannabis. His tour stops in Montreal on Tuesday, Sept 27, for a unique dining experience over five courses, complete with mocktail pairings. The event only allows for 20 guests—you can book your tickets right here.

Billie Gagné-LeBel is a queer freelance writer and content creator who loves to explore questions of identity and mental health, alternative relationships and lifestyles, beauty, and all things pop/geek culture. She writes for her own blog and publications such as Grenier aux nouvelles and BE MTL, and does copywriting and social media creation for a range of clients.

Illustration by Nora Kelly

The post Heat Index appeared first on Read Quebec.

by Esinam Beckley

One afternoon, while leaving the Frontenac metro, just near the exit,  I noticed someone selling books. This of course piqued my interest. The books being sold happened to be illustrated children’s books. It was on this day that I met Keenan Poloncsak. His previous book, Northern Mink, was trilingual – stumbling upon a trilingual children’s book was rare (and still is).  His latest, Opossum’s Landing, is quadrilingual. A few of the themes and subjects explored in these works were gentrification, displacement, immigration, and alienation. (This was at a time before any of our current social movements were in effect.) These are the themes I personally find stand out the most, but everyone (adults included) can interpret these works of art in their own way. And they are truly works of art.

Poloncsak binds his own books, as well as repairs old volumes, at his shop, Le Relieur des Faubourgs (formerly The Bookbinder’s Daughter), in the heart of the East end of Montreal. The shop radiates the nostalgia of an old garment shop or/ factory: the walls are lined with various fabric and materials for books.  It also holds workshops that teach the curious how to put together a book of their own. 

Poloncsak inherited the shop from the previous owner Laura Shevchenko. He apprenticed for years with her, to learn the craft of book making. Before this, he was employed at a Montreal landmark site for artists, Papeterie St. Armand. Poloncsak’s journey is fascinating; I had to know more. So I sat down with this bibliophile and new father at his current shop in the East end. It was here Keenan regaled me with the tale of how it all came to be…

Esinam Beckley: What made you decide to create a multilingual children’s book?

Keenan Poloncsak: I had started with a simple story and so I wrote it in English. I thought  “Oh, I should make it bilingual,” because I really speak both languages all the time. I’m more anglophone, but I speak French sometimes more than English in a day. I try to make things that I would like to read myself, too. I would have liked to have read bilingual books when I was younger, instead of just one language. It’s also more accessible. I thought, while I was at it since I want to reach more people, I might as well do a third language. I went for Spanish, because it’s a third common language, and I knew someone who could translate it.

For Northern Mink, I wanted to do the three languages of Quebec. I took a bit more time on it. Inuktitut is the Inuit language. It’s particularly the dialect of Northern Quebec.  It’s not the dialect of Nunavut. Because there are four or five official dialects of Inuktitut in Northern Canada. The story is about a mink who lives up North in the Boreal forest. I like to fantasize too. At some point I thought  “Oh, if I did it in Inuktitut, maybe I could go there and meet some people.” I called Kuujjuaq town hall. It’s a small town, and the mayor answered the phone. I told him I was looking for a translator, and asked if he knew anyone. He told me they did have a translator, but she was located in Montreal. So I was like, cool!

Then, for the new one Opossum’s Landing, that was my fourth book. So I thought I’ll do four languages (not that next time it will be five). It’s always English, French, and another different language. So, for the fourth time, I went with Hungarian, because those are my roots. 

Hungarian is different, with lots of accents, but the alphabet is still Roman. For the fourth, I wanted something completely different. I chose Farsi, because I have a few Iranian friends. Farsi was interesting, because it’s a completely different alphabet. It’s also for people to learn. Someone from Hungary or Iran who is young can potentially learn a new language. 

EB: There’s so much about displacement and trying to survive; what were you personally trying to include and get across with this book?

KP: I wanted to draw and write a book that children would like. I also wanted it to be aesthetically pleasing. Two main points for the kids are to entertain, and to inform. For example, opossums are actually a new species to Canada. 

EB: Really? How new?

KP: It’s hard to say, but from what I researched, the government has officially recognized their existence on the territory of Quebec since 2000.

EB: That’s so recent!

KP: Very recent! But just like everything, just because the government has decided that now, does not mean they weren’t actually here previous to 2000. They’re from the States, they’ve been making their way up. I just find them to be super interesting as an animal. It’s an omnivore. It helps a lot of things in nature. Like nature’s garbage disposal, because they eat many things we don’t like. Like ticks. It eats a lot of ticks, but does not contract or give Lyme disease. Also it does not contract rabies. A lot of people see it as a big rat, and do not like it. But it’s a good animal. If you have one in your yard, you should be happy. 

It came naturally to talk about a possum coming North that gets washed up in a flood in Quebec, and creates conflict. Immigration too, maybe, without saying the words. The opossum, she comes here, and people are like “Who are you? What are you doing?’’ same old shit. She has to deal with it, because she is stuck here. I also wanted to make it intense.

EB: Yes, I noticed death is one of the themes that are shown.

KP: Yes, I wanted to add a lot of true things to the story, without really mentioning it. The opossum gives birth, and the winter is really harsh. The part about getting frostbite on their ears is a real thing, because they are from the South. Or when she plays dead after she is attacked. They don’t live long, around two years. One technique of their survival is making a lot of babies. They are nomadic, they walk around, and the babies hang off of her. They are kind of like Johnny Appleseed, you know. They walk around and drop babies around. That’s their technique. 

EB: I love that you included vultures. 

KP: Yes, in the drawings there are vultures eating something, it’s gore but not. She is being told to go away by the lowest of the low. That is kind of what is going on in that picture. Vultures are considered an “undesirable,’’ so she is being told to go away by the bottom feeders. 

EB: The aesthetics of the book are gorgeous. How did you decide which materials you would use or design to create it? It’s such a great shade of yellow, and physically, the book falls open beautifully.

KP: The material is very strong. It’s buckram, a standard high-volume usage material. It’s really made for kids, librairies, and schools in mind. It’s sewn, the paper is good quality. I have a stamping machine, so I tried so many colours. Yellow was really the colour that came out nice. Actually, the official colour of 2021 was also yellow. 

EB: How would you like to see your books evolve, and what would you like to do eventually with your books?

KP: I rarely get offers. I’ve read my book in libraries and on stage to kids. But I never say ‘’Hey kids! This is about so and so.’’ I just hope they like it, and read the story. I really would like to do a reading somewhere, and I can read it in English and French. But I would like to have someone else to read it in all the languages. A big part of this is that I do not get a lot of breaks. It’s really hard work, and a little bit of good luck. Even with the shop, the stars were aligned. With Laura, I never at all thought she would pass it on to me. I just loved working with her, and in this field. It just so happened that this is what happened.

One thing I’m really trying to do is get Opossum’s Landing into libraries! Actually, the most libraries possible. Libraries and schools get special pricing if they contact me directly. I would rather this book be in every single library in the world, rather than one bookstore. The idea that a kid could stumble upon it, and like it. Bookstores never cut me any slack, and it’s almost like paddling upstream. I’m not against it, it’s just so complicated. No matter where you are, if people ask their local library to order a book, that’s the way to counter the system. If people ask, the library will buy it. 

Find out more about Keenan’s work on his website. He will also appear in person at the Montreal Comic Arts Festival/Festival de BD on May 27 -29! The festival tents will be set up  on Saint-Denis, between Gilford and Roy.

Esinam Beckley is a full-time scribe, student for life, and film enthusiast. She enjoys collecting the written word, tinkering with music wires in her bedroom, but especially mixing the two. She loves her parents, knitted garments, and art.

Illustration by Nora Kelly

The post Bound to Impress appeared first on Read Quebec.

It is April. There are still patches of snow in sight, but the warmth of the sun is bliss. It feels like spring is finally here. And what a perfect time to be inspired by new writers, new writing, and new venues for literary happenings, and to compile a spring roundup of literary events. 

The events I’ve selected are mostly in Montreal, and since I’m sure more events will be announced after I’ve written this, do check back on Where Poets Read, along with other places with literary events posted — such as QWF and La Poésie Partout — for the latest news. In fact, April has already welcomed a celebration at Afromusée for Linda Leith Publishing’s relaunch of Mairuth Sarsfield’s 1993 novel No Crystal Stair, plus the launch of the online magazine, Font. Online, the League of Canadian Poets hosted a reading by new members in Quebec. Among those readers, Montreal-based poet David Bradford heard the news this month that he has made the Canadian shortlist for the prestigious Griffin Poetry Prize! And yesterday was Poem in Your Pocket Day/ La Journée du poème à porter! What a start to poetry month. Now, let’s take a look at where readings will be popping up around town, like green buds bursting through the damp earth after a long winter…

SAVE THE DATES

April 22 5 pm (online)

fluid vessels presents an online reading with Medrie Purdham, Michael Trussler, and Liz Howard. This reading is part of an online reading series presented by the Montreal International Poetry Prize (deadline to enter: May 15) and with more information on all the readings here. Plus, Liz Howard has just been shortlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize – an online reading not to miss!

Event poster for Fluid Vessels, with Medrie Purdham, Michael Trussler, and Liz Howard.

April 23, 8pm at Mainline Theatre

The Words & Music Show is back in person, with performances by Sam Shalabi, Nisha Coleman, John Arthur Sweet, Dark Sky Preserve (Louise Campbell, Ian Ferrier), and Alasdair Rees. Tickets $10.

BLUE METROPOLIS

At the end of the month, Blue Metropolis Literary Festival gets underway, first online and then in person. Do check out the full program, but here are a few events worth highlighting: 

May 6, 9:30 pm at Hotel 10 (Blue Met)

ORAL/TRANS/MISSIONS | A performance retrospective by Clifton Joseph (yes, hear the legendary Clifton Joseph live in Montreal!). A night not to be missed, this event will be hosted by Atwater Poetry Project curator Faith Paré and co-sponsored by SpokenWeb.

Image from the event description of ORAL/TRANS/MISSIONS.

May 6, 11 am at Hotel 10 (Blue Met)

As part of the Blue Metropolis Professional Space and presented by the Association of English-Language Publishers of Quebec, check out Reimagining Book Promotion for a New Era, with Ryan B. Patrick (CBC), Sruti Islam (Weird Era), Gregory McCormick (Writers off the Page), Aude Le Dubé (De Stiil), and moderated by Chris DiRaddo. Tickets $7.

May 8, 10 am at Hotel 10 (Blue Met)

Weird Age, Imminent Selves | Consciences neuves pour vies chamboulées, with Tawhida Tanya Evanson, Caroline Dawson and Elkahna Talbi (English and French).  

May 8, 2:30 pm at McCord Museum (Blue Met)

Right on Time: Queer Eras, Queer Writing, with Olivia Tapiero, Helen Chau Bradley, Christopher DiRaddo and Tomson Highway for a conversation around what writing while queer has been, is, and could be moving forward. Tickets $7. 

May 8, 3 pm at Hotel 10 (Blue Met)

sounding undernames: a reading, with Faith Paré, Carlos A. Pittella and Klara du Plessis, and moderated by me, Katherine McLeod. Yes,I am biased in recommending this one, but it will be on the terrasse of Hotel 10. A reading on a terrasse — I’ve been looking forward to this all winter!

Interested in literary walking tours? Check out the tours offered throughout the festival.

ON THE ROAD

Montrealers Kaie Kellough, Martha Wainwright, Kim Thúy, and Aimee Wall will be in Moncton, New Brunswick, reading at the Frye Festival in late April. 

In mid-May, academics and poets will be flocking to Montreal for the ACCUTE (Association for Canadian College and University Teachers of English) conference. Keep an eye out for readings or performances popping up that week, or if you feel like registering for the conference itself, there is a lot to check out!

WHERE ARE POETS READING?

When I saw a poster for a reading on May 12 at 8:30pm with Kasia Van Schaik and Aaron Kreuter at Bar Notre Dame Des Quilles, I thought: I don’t know if I’ve heard of a reading there, but what a great place to host one. (Have you been to Bar NDQ? It’s the bar with fabulous music and bowling lanes where you reset your own pins, plus it’s across the street from Pizza Bouquet.) That got me thinking: we, as a city, are in yet another stage of re-opening and re-emerging this spring — what venues have been born over the winter, or are ready to be reborn?

Oana Avasilichioaei at Resonance Reading Series at the Resonance Cafe. (Photo: Katherine McLeod)

During the pandemic, we said goodbye to classic literary venues such as La Vitrola and Resonance Café (which had been home to the Resonance Reading Series). And yet both of these venues have been reborn, as La Casona and Kawalees respectively. 

Venues living on and ready for poetry are places like Dépanneur Café (plus their L’Annexe Dépanneur Café), Brasserie Beaubien, Mainline Theatre, Bar Le Ritz PDB, Théâtre St-Catherine, La Petite Marche, and La Sala Rossa. 

At Concordia, 4th SPACE has been hosting quite a few hybrid literary events in collaboration with Writers Read and more. 

But where else can poets read? 

Rumours! Behind Anteism Books, there’s a space to check out at 435 Beaubien. Word has it that Rocket Science Room might return, and that Ursa might have a few readings upcoming.

Where else can we read? The park! Did you ever notice that many parks in Montreal have mini-amphitheatres? Both Parc Beaubien and Parc Drolet were locations for lovely readings last summer. 

Keep an eye on when Théâtre de Verdure finishes its renovations in Parc La Fontaine. 

Want to be inspired by Théâtre de Verdure and L’Entrepot77? Watch Oana Avasilichioaei‘s video, Tracking Animal, recorded alone in these spaces in 2020. Which brings me to one more outdoor venue…

L’Entrepôt77 — last summer, so many impromptu arts performances happened here, and their popularity has made it so that there is now a way to reserve the space. Get in touch with the organizers for more! (Or hold a reading under the trees in the park across the street from it.)

Where poets read in the city of Montreal is always changing. Share where you think poets are, or should be, reading by writing to wherepoetsread@gmail.com — and I’ll share your suggestions — or get in touch with AELAQ on social media.

Where Poets Read is Katherine McLeod. She started Where Poets Read in 2016 when she was compiling lists of readings for her poetry students at Concordia, and realized that her lists were a valuable resource for those wanting to seek out where poets are reading. Since then, she has kept updating the lists as a form of sharing, archiving, and community-building. As an academic researching recordings of poetry readings, the producer of the literary series ShortCuts on The SpokenWeb Podcast, and a dancer of poems, Katherine has always been interested in the places where live art happens and the stories of those places. Follow her posts here and here. 

Illustration by Todd Stewart

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